Overview

The author guidelines include information about the types of articles received for publication and preparing a manuscript for submission. Other relevant information about the journal's policies and the reviewing process can be found under the about section. The compulsory cover letter form part of a submission and is on the first page of the manuscript. It should always be presented in English. See full structure of cover letter below. After the cover letter the manuscript body starts.

Original Research Article

An original article provides an overview of innovative research in a particular field within or related to the focus and scope of the journal, presented according to a clear and well-structured format.

Editorials are by invitation only and are intended to provide expert comment on relevant topics within the focus and scope of the journal.

Word limit

800 words

References

10 or less

Case Report

A venue to document their experience with testing, diagnosis and treatment of a patient or group. This can include the diagnosis and treatment of a patient, or a potential description of the implementation of an educational programme or healthcare-related intervention towards the improvement of human development

Word limit

500-800 words (excluding the structured abstract and references)

Structured abstract

250 words to cover a Introduction, Patient presentation, Management and outcome, and Conclusion

References

15 or less

Tables/Figures

no more than 4 Tables/Figure

Ethical statement

should be included in the manuscript

Compulsory supplementary file

ethical clearance letter/certificate

Review Article

Review articles provide a comprehensive summary of research on a certain topic, and a perspective on the state of the field and where it is heading. These articles are often meta-analyses comparing and combining findings of previously published studies.

Word limit

2500-4000 words (excluding the abstract and references)

References

15 or less

Structured abstract

250 words to include a Background, Objectives, Method, Results, Conclusion and Clinical Implications

Tables/Figures

data in the text should not be repeated extensively in tables or figures

Scientific Letter

Original research that is limited in scope can be submitted as a scientific letter rather than a full original research article.

Word limit

1500 words

References

6 or less

Tables/Figures

no more than 1 Table/Figure

Cover Letter

The format of the compulsory cover letter forms part of your submission. It is located on the first page of your manuscript and should always be presented in English. You should provide the following elements:

Tweet for the journal Twitter profile: This will be used on the journal Twitter profile to promote your published article. Max 101 characters (including spaces). If you have a Twitter profile, please provide us your Twitter @ name. We will tag you to the Tweet

Corresponding author: Identify to whom all correspondence should be addressed.

Authors’ contributions: Briefly summarise the nature of the contribution made by each of the authors listed.

Disclaimer: A statement that the views expressed in the submitted article are his or her own and not an official position of the institution or funder.

Source(s) of support: These include grants, equipment, drugs, and/or other support that facilitated conduct of the work described in the article or the writing of the article itself.

Summary: Lastly, a list containing the number of words, pages, tables, figures and/or other supplementary material should accompany the submission.

Anyone that has made a significant contribution to the research and the paper must be listed as an author in your cover letter. Contributions that fall short of meeting the criteria as stipulated in our policy should rather be mentioned in the ‘Acknowledgements’ section of the manuscript. Read our authorshipguidelines and author contribution statement policies.

Original Research Article full structure

Title: The article’s full title should contain a maximum of 95 characters (including spaces).

Abstract: The abstract, written in English, should be no longer than 250 words and must be written in the past tense. The abstract should give a succinct account of the objectives, methods, results and significance of the matter. The structured abstract for an Original Research article should consist of six paragraphs labelled Background, Objectives, Method, Results, Conclusion and Clinical Implications.

Background: Why do we care about the problem? State the context and purpose of the study. (What practical, scientific or theoretical gap is your research filling?)

Objectives: What problem are you trying to solve? What is the scope of your work (e.g. is it a generalised approach or for a specific situation)? Be careful not to use too much jargon.

Method: How did you go about solving or making progress on the problem? State how the study was performed and which statistical tests were used. (What did you actually do to get the results?) Clearly express the basic design of the study; name or briefly describe the basic methodology used without going into excessive detail. Be sure to indicate the key techniques used.

Results: What is the answer? Present the main findings (that is, as a result of completing the procedure or study, state what you have learnt, invented or created). Identify trends, relative change or differences on answers to questions.

Conclusion: What are the implications of your answer? Briefly summarise any potential implications. (What are the larger implications of your findings, especially for the problem or gap identified in your motivation?)

Clinical Implications: Consider the contribution of this study to patient management, if applicable- the contribution of this study to our healthcare system and future studies as a continuation from this one.

Do not cite references and do not use abbreviations excessively in the abstract.

Introduction: The introduction must contain your argument for the social and scientific value of the study, as well as the aim and objectives:

Social value: The first part of the introduction should make a clear and logical argument for the importance or relevance of the study. Your argument should be supported by use of evidence from the literature.

Scientific value: The second part of the introduction should make a clear and logical argument for the originality of the study. This should include a summary of what is already known about the research question or specific topic, and should clarify the knowledge gap that this study will address. Your argument should be supported by use of evidence from the literature.

Conceptual framework: In some research articles it will also be important to describe the underlying theoretical basis for the research and how these theories are linked together in a conceptual framework. The theoretical evidence used to construct the conceptual framework should be referenced from the literature.

Aim and objectives: The introduction should conclude with a clear summary of the aim and objectives of this study.

Research methods and design: This must address the following:

Study design: An outline of the type of study design.

Setting: A description of the setting for the study; for example, the type of community from which the participants came or the nature of the health system and services in which the study is conducted.

Study population and sampling strategy: Describe the study population and any inclusion or exclusion criteria. Describe the intended sample size and your sample size calculation or justification. Describe the sampling strategy used. Describe in practical terms how this was implemented.

Intervention (if appropriate): If there were intervention and comparison groups, describe the intervention in detail and what happened to the comparison groups.

Data collection: Define the data collection tools that were used and their validity. Describe in practical terms how data were collected and any key issues involved, e.g. language barriers.

Data analysis: Describe how data were captured, checked and cleaned. Describe the analysis process, for example, the statistical tests used orsteps followed in qualitative data analysis.

Ethical considerations: Approval must have been obtained for all studies from the author's institution or other relevant ethics committee and the institution’s name and permit numbers should be stated here.

Results: Present the results of your study in a logical sequence that addresses the aim and objectives of your study. Use tables and figures as required to present your findings. Use quotations as required to establish your interpretation of qualitative data. All units should conform to the SI convention and be abbreviated accordingly. Metric units and their international symbols are used throughout, as is the decimal point (not the decimal comma).

Discussion: The discussion section should address the following four elements:

Key findings: Summarise the key findings without reiterating details of the results.

Discussion of key findings: Explain how the key findings relate to previous research or to existing knowledge, practice or policy.

Strengths and limitations: Describe the strengths and limitations of your methods and what the reader should take into account when interpreting your results.

Implications or recommendations: State the implications of your study or recommendations for future research (questions that remain unanswered), policy or practice. Make sure that the recommendations flow directly from your findings.

Conclusion: Provide a brief conclusion that summarises the results and their meaning or significance in relation to each objective of the study.

Acknowledgements: Those who contributed to the work but do not meet our authorship criteria should be listed in the Acknowledgments with a description of the contribution. Authors are responsible for ensuring that anyone named in the Acknowledgments agrees to be named.

Also provide the following, each under their own heading:

Competing interests: This section should list specific competing interests associated with any of the authors. If authors declare that no competing interests exist, the article will include a statement to this effect: The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationship(s) that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article. Read our policy on competing interests.

Author contributions: All authors must meet the criteria for authorship as outlined in the authorship policy and author contribution statement policies.

Funding: Provide information on funding if relevant

Disclaimer: A statement that the views expressed in the submitted article are his or her own and not an official position of the institution or funder.

References: Authors should provide direct references to original research sources whenever possible. References should not be used by authors, editors, or peer reviewers to promote self-interests. Refer to the journal referencing style downloadable on our Formatting Requirements page.

Case Report full structure

Title: The article’s full title should contain a maximum of 95 characters (including spaces).

Abstract: The abstract should be no longer than 250 words and must be written in the past tense. The abstract should give a concise account of the Introduction, Patient presentation, Management and outcome and significance of the matter. The abstract can be structured and should consist of four paragraphs labelled Introduction, Patient presentation, Management and outcome, and Conclusion.

Introduction: Describe the context and the reason for publishing this patient study.

Management and outcome: Describe the management plan, progress and final outcome.

Conclusion: Summarise the lessons learnt and key implications or recommendations.

Introduction: Convey clearly what is particularly interesting about the patient that you want to describe to the reader. It is useful to begin by placing the study in a historical or social context. If similar cases have been reported previously, please describe them briefly. Clarify your aim or objectives in publishing this patient study.

Ethical considerations: Papers based on a case study that involves the treatment of humans must adhere to the Declaration of Helsinki on Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. Specify the recognised ethics committee from which approval for the case study was obtained; also state the serial number of the ethical clearance. Case studies must have the consent of the patient(s) or waiver of consent approved by an ethics committee.

Patient presentation: Describe your patient in detail with consideration of the following aspects:

Describe the information that was gathered on the patient’s medical problem(s) from the consultation, physical examination and results of any investigations.

Describe the information that was gathered on the patient’s perspective of their illness (loss of function, ideas, beliefs, concerns, expectations, or feelings)

Describe the information that was gathered on the patient’s context (family structure and function, occupational issues, environment)

Provide a 3-stage assessment of the patient’s clinical, individual and contextual issues.

Management and outcome: In this section, you should clearly describe the plan for care, as well as the care that was actually provided, how the patient’s condition progressed over time and the final outcome.

Discussion: Summarise the key points, lessons learnt and discuss these in relation to the literature. Clarify the implications or recommendations that arise from this patient study.

Acknowledgements: Those who contributed to the work but do not meet our authorship criteria should be listed in the Acknowledgments with a description of the contribution. Authors are responsible for ensuring that anyone named in the Acknowledgments agrees to be named.

Also provide the following, each under their own heading:

Competing interests: This section should list specific competing interests associated with any of the authors. If authors declare that no competing interests exist, the article will include a statement to this effect: The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationship(s) that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article. Read our policy on competing interests.

Author contributions: All authors must meet the criteria for authorship as outlined in the authorship policy and author contribution statement policies.

Funding: Provide information on funding if relevant

Disclaimer: a statement that the views expressed in the submitted article are his or her own and not an official position of the institution or funder.

References: Authors should provide direct references to original research sources whenever possible. References should not be used by authors, editors, or peer reviewers to promote self-interests. Refer to the journal referencing style downloadable on our Formatting Requirements page.

Formatting requirements

Checklist

Please review the checklist below to prepare your manuscript. This will help to make sure your submission is complete and gets handled as quickly as possible.

CHECK 1: Make sure your manuscript is the right fit for the journal by reviewing the journal information.

CHECK 8: We recommend authors to have ORCID iDs, which can only be assigned by the ORCID Registry. ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a nonproprietary alphanumeric code to uniquely identify scientific and other academic authors and contributors. You must conform to their standards for expressing ORCID iDs, and will have the opportunity to include the full URL (e.g. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097) during the submission process, that will link to your name when the manuscript is published.